ready for takeoff

I haven't traveled in a while. I have missed it so much that during my nightly Merville-service-road route, I find myself wishing the nightly traffic would put me at that portion where the service road crosses the NAIA runway (where the sides of the road are barricaded with runway lights). I look forward to that wonderful feeling of being right under a landing airplane. That feeling - the sudden rush - so reminds me of the anticipation of an upcoming travel plan.

Don't get me wrong, my motion sickness as posted here keeps me from enjoying a plane ride. I seriously wish I could skip plane rides altogether and just magically get to my destination. But plane rides lead to wonderful new (even old) places that the sight and sound of airplanes either remind me of a delightful travel memory or ignite excitement for an upcoming trip!

Tonight, I am sneaking in a short trip with my favorite travel buddies. It's just a weekend trip to Hongkong. There won't be any new sights to explore unlike Rick Mereki here who spent 44 days taking 18 flights to 11 countries filled with the most stunning views.

But I am just happy to get the chance to fill up my trusty giant Le Sportsac duffel bag - that is always folded flat inside my trolley when I fly in, but becomes additional luggage (that makes like that car in Sesame Street that fit all those clowns) when I fly out - with shopping loot.

I am also looking forward to the gastronomic experience that always comes with traveling! See Rick Mereki's here.

So ta-ta for now... Hope you have as fun a weekend as I am determined to have (read: am praying hard for a typhoon-free weekend)!

Photos of a 2011 Louis Vuitton ad campaign from theessentialist. Rick Mereki videos via acupofjo.

Noah says...

Sadly, the weather this week tends to lead to sick kids. Here's a snippet of a conversation I had with Noah when he was sick 2 years ago.

Me: "Noah, please drink your medicine so your fever will go away na."

Noah: "Where willet go?"

Me: "... Please! So your fever will go down."

Noah: "Willet go to my feet?"

More recently, when I got home from work on a day Noah had to skip school because he was coughing, I asked him if he was feeling better. Noah said he was feeling worse so I asked how he knew it was worse. "Because my cough is louder."

And another time, when I asked him how he was feeling, he answered, "I feel kawawa (woeful)." Awww, don't you moms just hate it when your kids are sick?

Hope the storm isn't causing sickness in your family! Stay safe!

Photo from here.

Click here for previous posts from the Noah Says series.

driving shoes

Just a quick question as I sit in my usual Monday morning traffic...

Do you drive with the shoes you picked to go with the day's outfit? Or do you use a pair of driving shoes?

I wear my flipflops when I drive. I just can't drive in 4-inch-heels! And even when I'm in flats, I'm afraid to scuff the back-of-the-foot-part. Which makes me think I really should get a pair of those driving shoes with spikes on the back-of-the-foot-part because I must be lifting my foot when I drive so the naked back-of-my-foot won't touch the (ugh) mat!

What about you? Do you also use some sort of 'driving shoe'?

Photo from streetfsn.

like button

I added a LIKE functionality to my blogposts today. In keeping with my Today, I am loving... series here -- and even my Today, I am un-loving... series here from my other blog here, I also added LOVE and UNLOVE buttons.

Over 150 posts since I started this blog, I still have no clue what my now 15 followers (a big thank you to all of you!!!) like and don't like reading.

So I hope you will use these new buttons to tell me if you love or unlove my posts so I can keep you, my readers, as delighted as I am writing these posts. Oh, and do feel free to backtrack on previous posts to tell me what you loved or unloved! :)

Photo from here.

mixing it up some more

When I started this blog four months ago, I started breaking some well-ingrained, but pretty dated fashion rules. Since then, I've learned to mix warm and cool neutrals: camel & gray, tan & black, silver jewelry & gold bag hardware (see previous post here). I've also learned to mix prints in the same color palette (see previous post here). I have yet to learn to mix prints of entirely different color schemes (see previous post here). But here's a new mix I'm actually excited to try out!

Glitter & knits!

Glitter & basic denim or striped tees!

I stumbled upon a long-forgotten black sequined mini-dress in my closet the other day. I am thinking of wearing it under a plum Charlotte Russe knit top I have that has a built-in black leather sash. Or under my striped or mustard Zara tops.

What about you? Will you mix glitter with knits or basics with me this week?

Photos from Zara and J.Crewing.



dear fork

I know I've written about Dear blank, Please blank cards here before. But I just can't get over how funny this particular one is!

Something hilarious to start off a fun weekend! 

Photos from here and designeditor.

Click here for previous posts from the Dear... series.

Noah says...



How many of these cartoon character silhouettes created by Bob Flynn can you name? If these were of current cartoon characters, I will bet Noah can name all of them. Because based on these quotable quotes of his, he has been watching too much cartoons!

• When I told Noah he was getting so thin, he replied, "I need air. I need to pump myself in the mouth!"
• On an out-of-the-country trip, we bought Noah a Buzz Lightyear toy. Towards the end of the trip, when we had already packed most of our things, Noah was looking for Buzz. When I told him Buzz was inside our luggage, Noah made sounds as if he was Buzz trapped inside, yelling a muffled "Huulllppp!!!"

• I overheard Noah talking to his Lola (grandma) about his tutuli (earwax). Weirdly, he seemed to be bragging that they were "like teeth. Like rock." Alarmed, his Lola said that he should clean his ears everyday. She asked, "Don't you know how to clean your ears?" Noah replied, "But my eyes cannot be long naman. That's just in cartoons!" And I could already imagine what he was thinking... A cartoon character with his eyes popping out of his head to peek at his ears! 
• While watching Spiderman, Noah shot me a puzzled look and asked, "How can Spiderman talk? He might make laway (spit saliva) on his mask!" 
• One night, before bedtime, Noah just blurted, "I don't know why Patrick's using Spongebob's brief and Spongebob is using Patrick's brief. Because when their pants got ripped, I saw Patrick wearing yellow and Spongebob wearing a pink brief." I was not only surprised by his curious observation, but also by the fact that he was thinking about it late at night, way after the show was over.
• We were playing Guess What Animal I Am. Describing a monkey, Noah said, "My eyes turn in[to] hearts when I see a banana..."

See? Noah has been watching way too much cartoons!!!

Cartoon silhouette photo from here. So did you recognize the characters? I named 28! What about you? How many were you able to name?

Click here for previous posts from the Noah Says series.

Today, I am loving...

... these photo-labeled pouches.

I like things to be tucked away so my house does not look like a supermarket or a bookstore. But when everything is tucked away, I forget that I have them. So I also need them to be in plain sight. My label-maker usually comes to the rescue but wouldn't it be both easier and more delightful to see a photo or graphic than read a label?

Today, I am loving... the idea of these pouches with a stylized photo of the pouch's contents! 

These printed pouches actually remind me of the pretty appliance covers here.

Photos via designeditor.

Click here for previous posts from the Today, I am loving... series.

some polka dots i spotted...

Swiss photographer and comedian Ursus Wehrli is releasing a new book called The Art of Clean Up. The book features photographs of everyday scenes of disarray straightened up into neatly organized rows - sorted by object type, size and color.

Now, "where are the polka dots?", you might ask. Well, here they are...

I find it totally hilarious that Wehrli also organized the polka dots on the bowl into a row!

Photos from here via A Cup of Jo.

Click here for previous posts from the Some Polka Dots I Spotted series.

my pretend shopping

It's been a busy, busy week. Even my weekend is filled with errands and a work event. So I snuck in some pretend-shopping online at Zara.com. Here are the things in my pretend shopping bag...

I am smitten with the subtle color-blocking in this two-tone skirt from the August 2011 Lookbook.

I just love the shape & structure of this dress with zipper details...

I am also eyeing this Patchwork Court Shoe and these Celine-isque Mini Shopper Bags (though I need to check out if these minis can hold all my things)...

I love that pretend-shopping can tide me over until I get the chance to actually step foot in a Zara store. :)

Photos from Zara.

Click here for previous My Pretend Closet posts.

  

love you because...

I saw this scrapbook idea on Ali Edwards' blog and went ahead and scrap-lifted it! Here are excerpts of my attempt.

Makes me wish I knew how to take better photos and use Photoshop. But it does record the things I love about my Isabella at 12 so I am happy. Luckily, eyecandy printed my photobooks in time for Isabella's birthday last month so it was a precious addition to her many gifts this year.

Next project is to scraplift this idea I got from Playtime Break which I absolutely adore!

Photos from aliedwards, playtimebreak, my own and a friend's.

Whimsical Wednesday!

It's the middle of the workweek once again. Break the monotony in your place of business with these playfully creative & funny business cards.

A yoga studio's card...

A scotch-taped card of a marriage counselor & a perforated one for a divorce lawyer...

Some hairdressers' cards...

Hope these inspired you to inject some creativity at work today! Have a whimsical Wednesday!

Photos via acupofjo from here and here.

Click here for previous posts from the Whimsical Wednesday series.

Noah says...

Noah is such a sweet boy. He probably says one sweet thing to me everyday. Here are five sweet things he said to me when he was 5 years old...

1. October 18, 2010 - Five minutes after I left the house for work, Noah called me on my cellphone to say, "Mommy, can you come back? Because I need to kiss you again."


2. July 28, 2010 - When Noah saw that I was sick, he asked if he could stay home from school. When I said 'no', he asked, "Eh who will take care of you tomorrow?"


3. September 21, 2010 - After kissing me, which he did right after kissing his sister Isabella, Noah said, "I wish I had three mouths. One for Daddy, one for Ate Isabella and one for you."


4. July 6, 2010 - I dropped Noah off at his school's driveway. He was walking towards the doors then he suddenly turned around and ran back to the car and opened the passenger door. Before I could even ask what was going on, he dropped his backpack on the ground, climbed up the car, and declared, "I forgot to kiss and hug you!" And he wouldn't allow it to be a quick hug. It had to be a long squeeze with both arms around each other. So we ended up causing traffic in his school's driveway.


5. May 22, 2010 - And though I've posted about this before, how can I not include Noah's "Mommy, I wish I could Mighty Bond myself to you so I can hug you forever." during our bedtime hug?



Awwww... Aren't children the sweetest?

Here is a book I found from A Cup of Jo that can make it easy to preserve the sweet things your child says to you.

Photo from heritage.

Click here for previous posts from the Noah Says series.

book art beyond words

Su Blackwell trawls secondhand bookstores for books, pages of which she will spend months, meticulously slicing and cutting to create these incredible works of art. I cannot fathom how, but The Telegraph claims these pieces only consist of pages that have been cut or removed from the book itself.

The sculpture's form is usually inspired by the book's title or a paragraph or picture within it.

For a material filled with words, it's ironic how these intricate works of art render me speechless. Truly stunning beyond words!

Photos from lushlee, here, here and here.

Click here for previous posts on art from the most unusual materials - including this on a different kind of book art, this on cut paper art, and this on pop-up card art.

Today, I am loving...

... the symmetry,

the repetition,

the consistency,

and the organization,

in these photos.

They remind me that it's okay to be O.C.!

For all time O.C.-ness, follow ocmominmanila.com.

And to the most O.C. person I know (ocmominmanila), congratulations on another baby girl (repetition)! May N be as adorable as M (consistency), may you recover quickly & easily so you can get back to a balanced life of motherhood and womanhood (symmetry), and may the little cub's hours be far from odd so you can keep the organization (and 9pm bedtime) in your O.C. life...

Notice how a lot of it was incredibly contrived but my own O.C.-ness kept me going so I could fit in all 4 O.C. ideas into this special shout-out to ocmom? Like I said, it's okay to be O.C.!

Photos from everythingfabtumblr and i'm just saying.